Column: Surfing enters new era without Clark Foam

Paul Jackson, marks up the price about $75 on custom surfboards made from Clark Foam at Stewart Surfboards Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005, in San Clemente, Calif.

December 5th, 2005, a day that will live in infamy. That is, if you happened to break your favorite board days prior.

12/5/05 is the date that Gordon "Grubby" Clark of Clark Foam sent out his mother of all fax bombs to shapers and surf suppliers across the globe. This seven-page fax outlined his reasons for shutting down Clark Foams doors, for good.

Yes, Clark Foam, who supplies 90 percent of all surfboard blanks in the entire world, is kaput.

Clark Foam's demise leaves a craterlike void and was brought about by several factors.

The blank is the foam core of the surfboard. A blank, in the hands of a skilled craftsperson, can be shaped and crafted into a thing of beauty, a quality, hand-shaped surfboard. Mass production of surfboard blanks is relatively difficult, and by mastering just that Clark was able to establish a virtual monopoly on a worldwide market.

Clark claims that environmental regulations imposed on him by the EPA, the state of California and especially Orange County are the reasons he is shutting down. He even infers criminal charges may be bought against him. Other sources attest to the existence of a different reality.

"He complied and we never fined him a thing," EPA spokesman Mark Merchant said, adding, "We would not have sent him to jail." This according to an article in the L.A. Times. The Fire Marshal also denies any recent problems.

The environmental issue is a sticking point that causes many surfers to wince. Surfers as a whole are in touch with their environment as they literally immerse themselves in it. The thought that the very boards they ride are a cause for environmental concern gives many a surfer conscious an ugly paradox to rationalize.

Nevertheless, few advocate abandoning the sport until blanks are manufactured in a suitable manner.

click photo to enlarge

Geoff Madsen, a shaper, does custom work on a Clark Foam board at Stewart Surfboards Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005, in San Clemente, Calif. Clark Foam, an icon in California surf culture, enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the blocks that have been shaped and hand-painted by everyone from backyard do-it-yourselfers to design shops that churn out thousands of handcrafted boards each year closed it's doors for good Monday. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

If you are economically disinclined and you managed to break your only board on Epsilon's surge, then you may be forced to do just that.

This changes everything

Is it the end of an era for surfing as we know it? Yes it is. Even if it amounts to a prolonged hiccup in production of quality surfboard blanks, this event has caused everyone to rethink the future and to start planning for it.

Many of us are looking for a silver lining in all of this, hoping that more advanced, environmentally friendly boards are in our near future.

What are we going to do right now though? Most everyone who is associated with the surf culture is aware by now that Grubby has closed his doors. It is interesting to see the reactions of surfers and surf companies after a week has passed. Some surf shops and shapers have raised prices on their remaining boards and others staunchly refuse, so far.

Many shapers of surfboards, both local and worldwide are going out of business. Others are scrambling for whatever lead they can, to get blanks from overseas. This is going to change the landscape of what is considered a custom surfboard. Containers of blanks from Australia and China are already steaming towards our shores.

Some shapers will switch to epoxy boards, which is slightly more environmentally friendly but with its own learning curve. The availability of materials to do this is in question as well, since a majority of the industry was geared to Clark Foam and fiberglass shaping.

In the meantime, surfers take inventory of their boards, knowing they will be harder to replace if broken on a great surf day. For the first time, serious thought is being given to boards from overseas, both instant, non-shaped pop-out boards and hand-shaped Chinese boards as well. Forecasts vary, some calling for the opening of a Clark Foam-like factory over the border. Others desire radical change, mass production of progressive, lightweight boards made of environmentally-friendly materials.

"This changes everything," said Donald Shott, a local shaper that uses the proceeds from his surfboard sales to fund mission trips to Costa Rica. For now this is an accurate, all-purpose statement that could easily garner consensus within the surfing community.